Scientist

Explore 194 quotes by Scientists

I had no intention to write atheistically. But I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world.

Charles Darwin

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Topic

Problem of evil

Author

Charles Darwin

Source

Letters of Charles Darwin

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1860 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Darwin, Charles. Letter to Asa Gray. 22 May 1860.

Current Citation

Darwin, Charles. Letter to Asa Gray, 22 May [1860]." The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, edited by Frederick Burkhardt and James A. Secord. Vol. 8: 1860. Cambridge University Press, 2022, no. 2814.

Common sense is actually nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind prior to the age of eighteen.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Common sense Received wisdom Custom and convention

Speaker

Albert Einstein

Source

The Universe and Dr. Eistein

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

English

Time

1948 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Einstein, Albert. Quoted in The Universe and Dr. Eistein. Written by Lincoln Barnett. Sloane, 1950. Originally printed in Harpers, 1948.

I cannot look at the universe as the result of blind chance, yet I can see no evidence of beneficent design, or indeed of design of any kind, in the details.

Charles Darwin

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Topic

Origin of the universe

Author

Charles Darwin

Source

Letters of Charles Darwin

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1870 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Darwin, Charles. Letter to J. D. Hooker. 12 July 1870.

Current Citation

Darwin, Charles. "To J. D. Hooker, 12 July 1870." The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, edited by Frederick Burkhardt and James A. Secord. Vol. 18: 1870. Cambridge University Press, 2010, no. 7273.

It has no vision, no foresight, no sight at all. If it can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, it is the blind watchmaker.

Richard Dawkins

On natural selection.

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Topic

Natural selection Evolution

Author

Richard Dawkins

Source

The Blind Watchmaker

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

English

Time

1986 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker. Norton & Company, 1986, ch. 1.

If A is a success in life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z. Work is X; Y is play; and Z is keeping your mouth shut.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Success

Speaker

Albert Einstein

Source

The Observer

Medium

Newspaper

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1950 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Einstein, Albert. The Observer. 15 Jan. 1950.

The pursuit of scientific truth, detached from the practical interests of everyday life, ought to be treated as sacred by every government.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Science and politics Science Politics

Author

Albert Einstein

Source

Fascism and Science The World As I See It

Medium

Essay

Language

German

Time

1934 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Einstein, Albert. "Faschismus und Wissenschaft: Brief an Minister Rocco in Rom [Fascism and Science: Letter to Signor Rocco in Rome]." Mein Weltbild [My World View]. Querido Verlag, 1934.

Current Citation

Einstein, Albert. "Fascism and Science." The World as I See It, translated by Allen Harris. BN Publishing, 2007.

Chance favors only the prepared mind.

Louis Pasteur

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Topic

Preparation Fortune

Author

Louis Pasteur

Medium

Lecture

Language

French

Time

1854 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Pasteur, Louis. Speech in Douai. On the occasion of the solemn installation of the Faculty of Arts of Douai and the Faculty of Sciences of Lille. 7 Dec. 1854, Douai, France.

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Self-improvement Personal growth Character

Speaker

Albert Einstein

Source

The Death of a Genius Life Magazine

Medium

Interview Magazine

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1955 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Einstein, Albert. "The Death of a Genius." Interviewed by William Miller. Life Magazine, 2 May 1955.

Everything that is hard to attain is easily assailed by the generality of men.

Ptolemy

Tetrabiblos

More information about this quote

Topic

Envy

Author

Ptolemy

Source

Tetrabiblos

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

168 160s 2nd century

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Ptolemy, Claudius. Τετράβιβλος [Tetrabiblios]. c. 150, bk. 1.

If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?

T.H. Huxley

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Topic

Knowledge

Speaker

T.H. Huxley

Source

On Elemental Instruction in Physiology

Medium

Lecture

Language

English

Time

1877 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Huxley, Thomas Henry. "On Elemental Instruction in Physiology." 1877. Lecture.

Much as we might wish to believe otherwise, universal love and the welfare of the species as a whole are concepts which simply do not make evolutionary sense.

Richard Dawkins

The Selfish Gene

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Topic

Evolution

Author

Richard Dawkins

Source

The Selfish Gene

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

English

Time

1976 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, 1976, ch. 1.

Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Nuclear weapons Physics Moments of discovery

Author

Albert Einstein

Source

Letters of Albert Einstein

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Einstein, Albert. Quoted in Einstein on Peace, edited by Otto Nathan and Heinz Norden. Simon and Schuster, 1960, ch. 9. Originally from Letter to Franklin Roosevelt, 2 Aug. 1939.

If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Relativity Physics

Speaker

Albert Einstein

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1929 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Einstein, Albert. Address in Paris. c. Dec. 1929, Sorbonne, Paris, France.

Current Citation

Einstein, Albert. "Einstein on Classifications." New York Times, 16 Feb. 1930.

The necessity of making things plain to uninstructed people, was one of the very best means of clearing up the obscure corners in one's own mind.

T.H. Huxley

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Topic

Thinking clearly Teaching

Author

T.H. Huxley

Source

Man's Place in Nature

Language

English

Time

1894 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Huxley, Thomas Henry. Man's Place in Nature and Other Anthropological Essays. London: Macmillan, 1894, preface.

Current Citation

Huxley, Thomas Henry. Man's Place in Nature, edited by Stephen Jay Gould. Random House, 2001, preface.

The great tragedy of Science-the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.

T.H. Huxley

Read Biogenesis and Abiogenesis at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Science

Speaker

T.H. Huxley

Source

Biogenesis and Abiogenesis

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1870 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Huxley, Thomas Henry. "Biogenesis and Abiogenesis." British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting. 1870, London, England, UK.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

Albert Einstein

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Topic

Paying it forward Effects of the past

Author

Albert Einstein

Source

What I Believe. Living Philosophies 13 Forum and Century

Medium

Essay Magazine

Language

German

Time

1930 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Einstein, Albert. "What I Believe. Living Philosophies 13." Forum and Century, Oct. 1930, vol. 84, issue 4, pp. 193-194.

The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs.

Alphonse Toussenel

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Topic

Man and animals Nature of men Misanthropy

Author

Alphonse Toussenel

Language

French

Time

1847 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

De Toussenel, Alphonse. L'Esprit des betes. Paris: Librairie societaire, 1847.

They are in you and in me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence...they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.

Richard Dawkins

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More information about this quote

Topic

Genetics Biology

Author

Richard Dawkins

Source

The Selfish Gene

Genre

Scientific literature

Language

English

Time

1976 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press, 1976, ch. 2.

In disputes about natural phenomena one must begin not with the authority of Scriptural passage but with sensory experience and necessary demonstrations. For the Holy Scripture and nature derive equally from the Godhead, the former as the dictation of the Holy Spirit and the latter as the most obedient executrix of God's orders.

Galileo Galilei

Read this letter at inters.org

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Topic

Scientific method Science Nature Science and religion

Author

Galileo Galilei

Medium

Letter

Language

Italian

Time

1615 1610s 17th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Galilei, Galileo. "Lettera des signor Galileo Galilei accademico linceo scritta all Granduchessa di Toscana [Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina]." Fiorenza, c. 1615.

Current Citation

Galilei, Galileo. "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina." The Essential Galileo. Hackett Publishing, 2008.

The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform.

Alfred Kinsey

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Topic

Sex

Speaker

Alfred Kinsey

Source

The Homosexual in America Time Magazine

Medium

Essay Magazine

Language

English

Time

1966 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Kinsey, Alfred. "Essay: The Homosexual in America." Time Magazine, 21 Jan. 1966.